Consumers Aided in Search for Solar Energy

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Colorado Consumer’s Guide to Buying a Solar Electric System provides basic information about the who, what and why of financing, purchasing and installing photovoltaic (solar electric) systems in Colorado. It also includes information about financial incentives such as the Solar Rebate Program, tax credits for businesses and net metering. Net metering means that extra electricity produced by a photovoltaic system is sold back to the utility at the same rate as power is purchased from the utility. “People need easy to follow guidelines for purchasing and installing solar energy systems, and this new booklet answers that need,” said NREL engineer John Thornton, who helped write the booklet.

The Borrower’s Guide to Financing Solar Energy Systems provides information for lenders and consumers about nationwide financing programs for photovoltaic systems and solar thermal systems, which heat indoor air and water. In addition to traditional sources for home mortgage funds, several government organizations offer programs for financing solar energy systems and energy efficiency improvements.

The guide’s glossary includes information about energy saving performance contracts through which energy service companies absorb the cost of more efficient energy systems in exchange for a share of the savings. It also describes energy efficient mortgages, which give special consideration to borrowers who purchase or refinance homes that are or will be energy efficient.

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Spectrolab Terrestrial Concentrator Solar Cell Achieves Unparalelled Solar Energy Conversion

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Using concentrated sunlight, these photovoltaic (PV) cells can convert 36.9 percent of the sun’s energy to electricity, a technology capability that
could dramatically reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar energy.

Spectrolab’s achievement is a necessary step to achieve one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s major PV initiative goals, to develop solar modules
that convert more than 33 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity as targeted in the High Performance PV Project.

“The modified cell design better suits the terrestrial solar spectrum and opens the path for higher performance terrestrial concentrators” said David
Lillington, president of Spectrolab. “And because the terrestrial cell we have developed is similar to our conventional space cells, it can be
implemented in production, and manufactured in very high volumes with minimal impact to production flow.”

Spectrolab uses these state-of-the-art solar cells in concentrator modules of various sizes and power-generating capabilities. Several modules are
already being tested throughout the world by PV concentrator system manufacturers.

A significant advantage of concentrator systems is that fewer solar cells are required to achieve a specific power output, thus replacing large areas
of semiconductor materials with relatively inexpensive optics that provide optical concentration. The slightly higher cost of multijunction cells is
offset by the use of fewer cells. Due to the higher efficiency of multijunction cells used in the concentrator modules, only a small fraction
of the cell area is required to generate the same power output compared to crystalline silicon or thin-film flat-plate modules.

The terrestrial solar cell is a modified version of Spectrolab’s Improved Triple Junction (ITJ) space solar cell.

“There is considerable synergy between space and terrestrial cells, and improvements in space cells are expected to drive efficiency improvements
for terrestrial cells. During the last few years, multijunction solar cells have doubled the power output of large commercial satellites, and
substantially improved their revenue-generating capability. We believe that further optimization of the improved terrestrial concentrator cells will
yield the potential to surpass 40 percent conversion efficiency,” said Dr. Nasser Karam, Spectrolab vice president for Advanced Technology.

Terrestrial solar cells will also be the driving force to reduce the cost of materials used in space and terrestrial applications. This will add to the
economic attractiveness of multijunction solar cell technology both for high power space satellites and large terrestrial systems.

The terrestrial concentrator cell, measuring approximately one-quarter of a square centimeter in area, was fabricated and tested at Spectrolab and then
re-measured at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in Golden, Colorado. NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s premier laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficient research, development and deployment. Development of the device technology embodied in the record efficiency multijunction cell was funded in part by NREL, in part by the Air
Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and by Spectrolab.

Spectrolab, founded in 1956, has been supplying solar cells and panels to the space industry for 40 years. Spectrolab is headquartered in Sylmar,
Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. It also is a leading supplier of searchlights and solar simulators. With its heritage mirroring the history of flight. It is the largest manufacturer of satellites, commercial jetliners and military aircraft. The company is also a global market leader in missile defense, human space flight and launch services.

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The Solar Cooking Archive

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Food is easily and conveniently cooked with solar energy as the “fuel” in devices called solar cookers. Solar cookers are an ideal addition
to any kitchen wherever there are predictable hours of sun many days of the year. Solar cooking and baking are easy. Solar cookers are safe around children and provide a great way to learn about and use solar energy. Solar cookers are clean, convenient, non-polluting and easy on the environment. And, for millions of people living in arid, fuel-scarce regions of the world, solar cookers can literally save
lives.
Solar Cookers International (SCI) spreads solar cooking awareness and skills worldwide, particularly in areas with plentiful sunshine and diminishing sources of cooking fuel. SCI has enabled 30,000 families in Africa to cook with the sun’s energy, freeing women and children from the burdens of gathering wood and carrying it for miles. Tens of thousands of individuals and organizations — from all over the world —
have learned about solar cooking through SCI’s excellent publications and educational materials, and have benefited from SCI’s information exchange networks, research, technical support, and the SCI-sponsored Solar Cooking Archive, the internationally recognized Internet resource for solar cooking information.

SCI’s nonprofit, tax-deductible work is supported by generous individuals, private foundations, and sales of solar cookers and supplies. If you are a current member of Solar Cookers International, we thank you. If you are learning about solar cooking for the first time, please explore the possibilities and join us in teaching the world that with sunshine, cooking is free and easy.

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Molecular Assemblies Created to Convert Water to Hydrogen

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Wonder where the fuel will come from for tomorrow’s hydrogen-powered vehicles? Virginia Tech researchers are developing catalysts that will convert water to hydrogen gas.

The research will be presented at the 228th American Chemical Society National Meeting in Philadelphia August 22-26, 2004

Supramolecular complexes created by Karen Brewer’s group at Virginia Tech convert light energy (solar energy) into a fuel that can be transported, stored, and dispensed, such as hydrogen gas.

The process has been called artificial photosynthesis, says Brewer, associate professor of chemistry. “Light energy is converted to chemical energy. Solar light is of sufficient energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gas, but this does not happen on its own; we need a catalysts to make this reaction occur.”

One major challenge is to use light to bring together the multiple electrons needed for fuel production reactions. Electrons are the negatively charged particles that surround an atom’s nucleus, allowing atoms to react and form bonds.

Previous research has focused on collecting electrons using light energy. The Brewer group has gone the next step and created molecular machines that use light to bring electrons together (photoinitiated electron collection) then deliver the electrons to the fuel precursor, in this case, water, to produce hydrogen.

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TED TURNER JOINS SOLAR ENERGY MARKET

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

‘Our future depends on changing the way we use energy,’ Turner said. ‘We`ve got to move away from fossil fuels and develop long-term energy solutions that work. Using clean energy technologies, such as solar power, is the right thing to do, and it represents a tremendous business
opportunity.’

Turner will join forces with Dome-Tech Solar, in Branchburg, N.J., to create DT Solar.

‘Our core goal is to reduce our customer`s energy bills and provide them a high return investment. We do all this while improving their operations and reducing their impact on the environment,’ Dome-Tech, which also includes Dome-Tech Commissioning Services, Dome-Tech Field Engineering, Dome-
Tech Energy Advisors, FM3 Group and Dome-Tech Energy Solutions, said in its mission statement.

According to a company release, DT Solar will concentrate on the United States` largest solar energy market, California.

The state offers comprehensive tax incentives and enthusiastic support from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last year introduced the Million Solar Roofs initiative there.

California businesses to get help installing solar

Mid-size commercial buildings in California now have a resource to help with the upfront cost of installing a solar energy system.

Solar Power Partners, ‘a developer, owner and operator of a distributed network of commercial solar energy facilities,’ according to Renewable Energy Access, launched SPP LLC1, a power purchase agreement program.

‘The (power purchase agreement) ensures energy rates remain lower than the local utility and insulates the user from volatile energy prices over the term of the agreement. The maintenance and operating costs are covered while building owners pay only for the electricity that is consumed,’ the
news outlet reported.

The high upfront cost of installing a solar energy system is what prohibits many commercial and residential customers from making the switch.

Tax incentive plans and rebate programs in about a dozen states ensure that customers will see a return on their investment within five to 10 years. President George W. Bush`s Solar America Initiative also includes federally- funded incentives to go solar.

Suntech Power reports progress on new technology

Suntech Power, based in Wuxi, China, announced its ‘semiconductor finger’ technology has reached 18 percent efficiency and the commercial adaptation of the project is progressing on schedule.

The technology, ‘co-developed and owned together with the University of New South Wales in Australia, overcomes the major limitation of the traditional screen printing process that is the industry standard,’ according to the industry publication, Solarbuzz.

‘Heavily doped semiconductor strips are built into the (photovoltaic) cell surface which more efficiently collects the generated electrical charge without requiring the surface dead layer found in conventional screen printed cells. This technology also potentially enables the company to reduce the number of traditional lines of metal contact strips on the top surface of the PV cell thereby reducing shading from the sun to enable the PV cell to generate even
greater watts of electricity,’ Solarbuzz said.

‘We are very pleased with our semiconductor finger technology which has increased the average conversion efficiencies of our best monocrystalline PV cells to 18 percent — well above the industry average of 14 percent to 15 percent. At the same time, we have maintained the lowest cost production base relative to our peers,’ Suntech Chairman and CEO Zhengrong Shi said via a statement.

Spanish company signs Algerian agreement

Spanish solar firm Abener last week signed a contract for a solar thermal electric-combined cycle hybrid plant in the Sahara Desert country of Algeria, which will produce 25 megawatts of electricity using a 1,937,503 square-foot field of parabolic collectors.

Abener will operate the plant for 25 years.

Algeria, located on the north coast of Africa, launched an incentive plan for producing solar thermal energy in March 2004, making it the first country outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to do so.

‘This way, in 2010 they will cover 5 percent of their electric production with (renewable) sources and aiming to become, to a larger extent, one of the suppliers of green energy to Europe by means of several projects of submarine electric interconnection that are now under consideration,’
according to Solarbuzz.

‘It is worthy to point out that the exploitation of the 1 percent of the Sahara surface with solar thermal electric plants could provide the whole planet with electric energy,’ the publication continued.

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AID News for May 17 2001

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I am a visitor from India to California. I am here for some more weeks. I am a retired government of India officer 68 years old. I live in
Trivandrum, Kerala. I have been using a solar cooker for over 12 years on a consistent basis. Since I have hardly seen the solar cooker being used by
any one else in my neighbourhood I have been making efforts to making its advantages made more widely known by means of articles in magazines and
newspapers. For a better effect I have now written a book.

Solar cooking was being encouraged by government of India some 15-20 years ago but not anymore now. More correctly they are paying lip service to this idea. Sadly even the energy gurus in India have forsaken it. It is perhaps considered infradig to be associated with a technology which is low tech.
The same mental mindset considers it fashionable to be associated with hi-tech technologies because they are the ones in use in western countries
even if they are costly and not relevant to the conditions prevailing in India.

I am specifically referring to photoelectricity or PV. PV got a big fillip in USA because of space exploration. The cost of PV has gone down considerably because of this. Even so it remains a costly technology. In western countries since every activity is driven by electricity it makes sense to look to PV for providing some of the electricity needs. Several multinational companies are in the PV business and looking for business in developing countries. They are pushing this costly technology and developing -country -governments are falling for it. A PV device which powers the equivalent of a 40 watt incandescent bulb costs about Rs.5000 (or US$ 100). A 40 watt bulb costs about Rs.10. It costs nothing to run it with grid electricity. But to run it independently it costs Rs.5000. This can make sense only in villages which have no hope of getting grid power.But this device is being sold all over India with govenrment subsidy to the extent of 60 %. It does not make sense.

On the other hand cooking makes a great demand on energy in developing countries. It constitutes as much as 70-90 % of the energy requirement in
developing communities. In western countries it is not cooking but other needs such as air-conditioning, household gadgets(washing,
drying clothes etc)etc which consume energy. In developing countries even the meagre cooking needs of energy are very burdensome for the poor. They have to trudge for miles in search for firewood and spend their lives in smoke filled kitchens. It is noteworthy that the energy “experts” have
not found a solution for this. The only solutions touted over the last 50 years are improved chula or stove and bio gas. Both these approaches are
flawed. An improved chula still depends on scarce and difficult to get firewood. Biogas from cow dung is not a cheap device. The hardware for the
biogas plant is costly. To charge the unit requires the dung from several heads of cattle and poor in India do not have cattle or at any rate so many
heads of cattle. Well to do farmers may be able to make a success of it but not the ordinary run of people in the villages. Life in the villages cries
out for a solution for the energy required to cook food. But the solution offered is energy for lighting. An artificial case is made out that
lighting liberates the villages from darkness. This is like offering cake to one asking for bread. Even this is excusable because the cake can be
eaten. But PV lighting cannot provide the energy required for cooking. Cooking needs several visiits to the kitchen in a day and consumes much
more energy than lighting. A wick lamp used to provide the light in the night in olden days but cooking cannot be done with a wick lamp.

In this situation it is my submission that the solar cooker can provide a modicum of relief. I say a modicum because it can work only on sunny days
which is the case 70 % of the year. The solar cooker is cheap. A durable cooker can be made for Rs.1500 ($30)or less. The solar cooker will last a
lifetime without maintenance. If you spread the cost of Rs.1500 over its lifetime which may be assumed to be 15 years it cost is next to nothing.
But even this may not be affordable to the poor because of the initial downpayment. So there is a case for giving it to them on a subsidy or
working out an appropriate financial package using microcredit. At least there is a better case for subsidising the solar cooker than for
subsidising a solar PV lamp costing Rs.5000.

The solar cooker needs no fuel. Sunshine provides the fuel. The solar cooker will take 2-3 hours to cook. But this not a problem in most houses.
If you have cook in an emergency or cook at odd hours when there is no sun the solar cooker will be of no avail. But barring these exceptional cases
it will give good service. The solar cooker is very convenient because it does not burn the food and therefore does not require close attendance. Yet
can cook several items in one go. You can not only boil food but also roast nuts, make bread or boil water or make dried vegetable and fruits. It is
very verstaile. The solar cooker requires no costly infrastructure. An individual can buy one and set it up instantly if he can find a sunlit premises in or around his house. And lastly it is, of course, pollution free.

For all these reasons I strongly advocate solar cooking as something which is cheap and affordable. I have been practising it for 12 years and I know
what I am saying. I am not simply theorising.

I said earlier that I have written a book on the subject. It is over 200  pages and is in English. It is published in Delhi and is titled MAKING THE
MOST OF SUNSHINE – A Handbook of Solar Eneergy for the Common Man. I have also written a 40 page booklet and got it translated in Malayalam. It is
published by the Kerala Literacy Mission . I would like to translate this book in other languages as well.

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Post-petroleum World?

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Of course is takes energy to cast metal parts, wind stator coils, etc, but in the absence of major storms it should last many years, long enough to more than repay its production energy.

I’ve been a) using the assumption without much comment, and b) assuming that it’s actually an overgeneralization.  That is, some specific case or case model (maybe even an “average” or “normal” case in some sense, ie, not clever choice of case to make the point) can be shown to be a net
energy loss, and this has been generalized more than it should be. Same for biofuels.

But even with (b) above, (a) is reasonable, because even if it can be made to pay (and I think it can even if it isn’t currently) it’s less viable than other ways.  Rather like, I wouldn’t push hydroelectric power as a total solution, even though you more than break even.

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Modelling Atmospheric Solar Energy Absorption

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

An atmospheric general circulation model , which assimilates data from daily observations of temperature, humidity, wind, and sea-level air pressure, was compared with a set of observations that combines satellite and ground-based measurements of solar flux. The comparison reveals that the model underestimates by 25-30 watts per square meter the amount of solar energy absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere. Contrary to some recent reports, Clouds have little or no overall effect on atmospheic absorption, a consistent feature of both the observations and the model. Of several variables considered, water vapor appears to be the dominant influence on atmospheric absorption.

The introduction appears to offer a good, concise insight into the current perception about the disposition of solar energy within Earth’s climate system.

1. The top of the atmosphere global average solar incident energy is 342 W m^-2
2. Approximately 30% ( 102 W m^-2 ) is reflected back to space, and the remaining 240 W m^-2 is absorbed by the atmosphere and surface.
3. Comparison of a Global Circulation Model with observations at 720 surface sites showed that the model overestimates by 10 – 15 W m^-2
   the global average solar flux absorbed by the surface.
4. Another comparision of four other models with observations at 93 surface sites also showed surface overestimates of 9 – 18 W m^-2
5. The global mean solar flux absorbed in the atmosphere in four GCMs ranges from 56 – 68 W m^-2, which are considerably smaller than
   98 W m^-2 derived empirically from surface observations at ~1000 sites.
6. Satellite-based estimates of surface flux ( using radiative transfer codes to describe atmospheric absorption ) range between 65 – 83 W m^-2, and the higher figure has been validated against surface observations. The use of such codes is really modelling, so comparing those results with the above GCM results would effectively    be just a comparison of models.
7. Clouds have been suggested as contributing 25 W m^-2 additional absorption that is not accounted for in the models, however such a
   strong absorbance by clouds is inconsistent with the observed reflectance of clouds.

Having laid the foundation, the author then goes on to describe in boring detail how he selected the observational data sets, the spatial
grid points over the globe ( unevenly, with 8 in southern hemisphere and 23 points between the equator and 30 degrees north, hence the
observations are weighted towards northern temperate continents ). The observations were compared to the output from the GEOS-1 model,
and, without filters, the model underestimated the absorbed solar flux in the atmosphere by 25 – 30 W m^-2, when compared to observations.

To ascertain the effect of clouds, two independent measurements of cloud fraction were then also incorporated, and the resulst showed that the
25 – 30 W m^-2 discrepancy was independant of either measure of cloud cover. Whilst checking for undesirable correlations hidden in the
dataset, additional variables that might affect atmospheric absorption were also evaluated. It was found that the treatment of total column
water vapour in the model could explain much of the discrepancy between model and observations, as the discrepancy increased with increasing
water vapour.

Provided the above difference is real ( and the author acknowledges it could still be an artifact of the dataset selected ), it is possible
that the additional energy absorbed in the atmosphere would result in less evaporation from the surface and correspondingly less
precipitation. The modelling of energy transfers from the tropics could perhaps be affected in both atmospheric and ocean circulation models
by the difference.

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Solar energy and Water education

December 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

1) Solar hot water systems, with water conservation in mind. 2) Solar hot water, heating and cooling systems. 3) Solar energy housing systems incorporating water recycling. 4) Solar energy from photovoltaic and domestic wind turbines for electrical power.

Powertech solar systems (Cyprus) Ltd is a British-Cypriot Joint venture to manufacture solar energy systems from designs developed by World Development Technology UK. People living in the west who consume 80% of the worlds natural resources, have no concept of what it is like to live with only 10ltrs of water a day which the west takes for granted. Over 2 billion people in the developing world have no electrical power supply,
yet the west wastes 35% of the worlds  natural resource because it has the money to pay for.

World Development Technology (UK) W.D.T. is a none profit making company with an office in the south of England operated by the principals wife and children of W.D.T. W.D.T(UK) have applied to the lotteries board for funding to build the first of many Water Energy Technology (W.E.T) Centres. The W.E.T Centres will be sustainable buildings powered by the Sun and Wind and 70% self sufficient in water. The W.E.T Centres will
demonstrate innovative technology and ideas from across the world,(not available in the D-I-Y market) of which 60% is manufactured in the UK.

W.D.T receives donations and commissions from British Manufactures who are looking to penetrate the East and developing countries. Powertech (Cyprus) donates 10% of all profits to W.D.T. bringing Education and Awareness to the younger generation (your children and their children who will have to live a new less wasteful way of life)

The next war in the Middle East will be about WATER, Cyprus is on the door step, with an already serious drought problem, where water is only available 3 times a week. The problems of Global Warming affects everybody not just the rich countries, who have the power to buy all the Oil and Gas on the world market, but the developing world who have no resources of there own will have to import or invest in  solar and wind technologies available, for a sustainable future with little regard to the price of oil in the coming years.

Unfortunately if the west does not reduce its co2 emissions  by also investing in none pollutant renewable resources and reduce the unnecessary waste from its building system, then the world will become a much dryer place with less rain fall, increased demand for water, which doubles every 10 years will reduce  the need for energy to heat water with out integrating a recycling system.

All the riches in the world and the old saying “What will it cost” you will know that by the year 2015 or before. Look at two aspects of your daily life:

Shopping for food in your supermarket (food from around the world) all grown to perfection with out a blemish, because that is what you have been led to expect and demand. The first sign of the water problem will be fresh food, smaller size items and more expensive as the cost of energy rises to heat greenhouses and transport the products to there end
destination. The second sign of water problems will be the cutting of domestic supplies, to provide water for agriculture and industry which consumes 60% of all water made available.

Visiting your D-I-Y store also demonstrates how this market has grown due to the problems which have developed over the years in your home. The expansion of available products to improve your standard of life and repairs to your home could have been integrated during the time the house is built. This situation makes World Development Technology leaders in this growing industry, unlike the competition we are concerned with the environment and the future of the planet we live in.

The $8 billion D-I-Y industry supplying you with a choice of 40,000 lines will start to decline as solar energy building systems start to go up. This situation makes World Development Technology leaders in this growing industry, unlike the competition, we are concerned with the environment and the future of the planet we live in.

Besides rain and the need for  improved management of water resources, is an option  to start building desalinisation plants to convert sea water to drinking water. The process consumes 6 kW of electricity for every 25 gals produced, this technology will consume more of the diminishing fossil fuel resources of which the world known reserves will be depleted within 50-60 years. Unless the East and developing countries do not catch
up with the living and wasteful standards of  WEST.

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Australian Solar Energy

December 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The maximum energy available from the sun, ie when light strikes the collector at 90degrees at midday on the summer solstice is not a lot, I forget the figure, but I recall 350W per square metre. As you go away from the equator this will reduce by the cosine of the latitude. The efficiency of comercial solar electric panels is about 20%, Solarex brand, probably the most widely available, have panels aout 0.72m^2 which have a peak output of
60W at a nominal 12V, at a cost of about $A550 government price, ie private users pay considerably more. These panels are very widely used in low power applications, ie remote radio communications sites, remote area telephones, small pumps etc.

To power a domestic installation using solar electricity is extremely expensive.

Heating water directly from solar energy is much more viable, but still not as widely used as one would at first expect, for the following reasons:
1 The initial cost is quite high and, when I was considering it a few years ago, had a pay back period, compared to off-peak electricity, of more than 8 years.
2. The average person changes houses within this time.
3. In many parts of the country scale build up in the tubes would mean that the collectors need repair or replacement at about this time.

Although direct exploitation of solar energy is generally too expensive, there is a lot of work being put into indirect exploitation in new home design, solar efficicent housing is the flavor of the month, and many designers and builders are paying more than lip service to the concept.

In summary, for the individual, exploitation of solar energy is considerably more expensive than readilly available alternatives.

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